PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana

February 14, 2024

Prime Minister recently launched PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana to provide free electricity to its beneficiaries.
As per the scheme, the central government will provide 300 units of free electricity per month to its beneficiaries by investing worth ₹75,000 crores.
- The free electricity scheme was earlier announced by Finance Minister in the interim budget speech.
It aims to light up 1 crore households by providing up to 300 units of free electricity every month.
This scheme aims to incentivise the adoption of solar energy among residential consumers, promoting sustainability and reducing reliance on conventional energy sources.
It is a Grid Connected Rooftop Solar PV System.
- In the grid connected rooftop or small solar photovoltaic (SPV) system, the DC power generated from solar panel is converted to AC power using power conditioning unit/Inverter and is fed to the grid.
Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats shall be incentivised to promote rooftop solar systems in their jurisdictions, under the scheme.
Subsidy-
- Under this initiative, households can avail a subsidy of Rs. 30,000 per kilowatt (kW) for systems up to 2 kW in capacity.
- For additional capacity beyond 2 kW, the subsidy reduces to Rs. 18,000 per kW, applicable up to 3 kW.
- However, for systems larger than 3 kW, the total subsidy is capped at Rs. 78,000.
According to the government, the solar panel scheme is expected to generate savings of up to ₹15,000-18,000 annually for households from free solar electricity.